Many of us have a complicated relationship with our face masks. I find most of my frustrations involve my glasses – steamed up lenses or glasses falling off if I’m not careful in taking off the mask. Sometimes the loops pull my ears in such a way that the glasses no longer sit snug and are constantly in a tenuous balance on the ears. (I suppose I should just look into contact lenses.)

So I want to offer a blessing for our face masks this morning. It comes from a collection of blessings that Michelle shared with me, written for this strange time of pandemic. Here we are, taking on this daily new article of clothing – a new decision about what and how to color coordinate, inspiring creative ways to drink our morning coffee as we work. Here we are in this new time. Let us, then, bless these face coverings, see them for what they are, for what they do, and then take on this “holy inconvenience” in love.

Blessing for a Face Mask
By Mary Luti

God of health and wholeness,
of neighbor love and kindness,
Bless this mask, my slight shield
Against great ills:

Bless the fabric that repels the drops,
The ties that go behind my ears,
The wire that fits snug against my nose,
The folds that cup my chin.

Make me grateful for my mask
Even when it makes me hot,
Even when I look funny in it,
Even when I’m dying to take it off.

Bless me also, and everyone
Who for their own and others’ sakes
Put on this holy inconvenience every day,
Our minds made up to love.